Invention and use of wall mounted games is known to the public, perhaps the most popular wall game being darts. Generally, dart games consist of a round target board at which a plurality of darts are thrown from a designated distance. A wide variety of different games can be played with these dart boards, but, in essence, the object of each game is to throw the darts at specific regions of the board accounting for varying levels of difficulty. Dart boards themselves come in a variety of different configurations. Although some consist of a mere target, many others are available including one with an electronic display of the players scores, running game totals and the like. Some even include a plurality of light and sound effects.
Unfortunately, the very nature of dart games makes them unsuitable for young children, as the darts are sharp and can easily hurt or injure them. In addition, these games can also be dangerous for adult play, especially in crowded environments such as in an arcade or bar. Numerous variations have been derived from the original dart board games. For example, instead of a pointed dart, magnet tipped darts or metal tipped darts with a magnetic board, or VELCRO darts are variants. Hurley U.S. Pat. No. 3,604,707 discloses a coin-operated, electronic amusement game with a wall-mounted display panel that may be selectively illuminated to provide animation for the amusement game. The game essentially involves judging the appropriate release time of an object. Animated characters are positioned on the playing board, each character simulates throwing an object, such as a dart or a baseball, at a target on the board. The players are able to watch these simulated throws, and actuate the release of the object when they deem it appropriate.
Since throwing projectiles at a target is excellent for aiding in the development of hand-eye coordination, there is a need for an improved target throwing game which is not dangerous for children and yet is challenging for them to play and exciting in sight and sound to afford greater amusement value.
The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.